Seeding-machine.



No. 860,611. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907. c. P. SBSTER.

SBEDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 27. 1906.

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UNITED STATES CHARLES P. SESTER, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

SEEDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1907.

Original application filed geptember 27, 1905, Serial No. 280,249.Divided and this application filed March 27, 1906. Serial No.308,211.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES P. SEsrnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Seeding-Machines; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to certain new and useful improvements inseeding machines and has particular reference to the general type ofbroadcast distributors wherein two distributing fans are employed forreceiving and distributing broadcast suitable grain or seed.

One of the objects of the invention is combining with two broadcastdistributers a right and left auger or screw feed revolubly mounted in asuitable casing and communicating with a hopper adapted to containgrain; and a grass seed attachment containing a suitable feed andprovided with diverging spouts from the feed, which at their lower endscommunicate with the opposite ends of the casing containing such augerfeed.

A further object of the invention, is combining with two fandistributers, a feed consisting of a right and left auger, a casing forcontaining the said auger and adjustable feed ways attached to the endsof said casing; and to a grass seed attachment having diverging spoutsconnected at their lower ends with the opposite ends of the auger casingat points above the feed ways aforesaid. i

This invention has for its further object a grass seed attachmentcontaining a feed consisting of a fluted roller, the flutes of whichdiverge from a central point outwardly to the ends of the said rollerand are also inclined downwardly from central point to the outer ends ofsuch roller.

This application is a division of the application filed by me onSeptember 27th 1905, for improvements in seeding machines, bearingSerial Number 280,249.

For a further and full description of the invention herein and themerits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details ofconstruction of the means for effecting the result, reference is had tothe following description and drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention aresusceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevation from the rear of a broadcast distributingmachine, containing my improvements; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of oneside of my improvement but showing the drive shaft in cross section andomitting the driving means for the grass seed attachment, which saiddriving means is shown in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a central verticalsection through the upper portion of my distributing machine; Fig. 4 isa central transverse section taken through the cylindrical casingcontaining the right and left auger feed and also showing the adjustablefeed ways attached to said casing; Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinalsection of the fluted feeding roller for the grass seed attachment; Fig.6 is a cross section through the grass seed attachment, showing thefluted roller, one of the slidevalves and one of the feed spoutsattached thereto; Fig. 7 is an end view of the fluted feed roller of thegrass seed attachment, and Fig. 8 is a detached view in plan of one ofthe adjustable feed ways which is attached to the cylindrical casingcontaining the right and left auger and which is disposed above the fandistributer.

Like numerals of referance indicate corresponding parts throughout thefigures.

In the drawings 1 denotes an end-gate, which is of the usual form towhich is secured a pair of brackets 2 duplicates of each other, and 3denotes a drive shaft which has bearing in the lower ends of thebrackets 2 as shown.

4 refer to short vertical shafts on the upper ends of which are carriedthe fan distributers 5, the said shafts being journaled in the brackets2 as shown and on each of said short shafts is shown bevel pinions 6which mesh with bevel pinions 7 on the drive shaft 3 by means of whichpower may be transmitted from the driving shaft 3 to the fan shafts 4.The shafts 4 may be driven in the usual manner by an endless beltingconnecting a sprocket wheel on one of the ground wheels of a wagon (notshown) on which the said seed distributor is adapted to be supported;and while I have shown and described bevel gearing as a means oftransmitting power from the driving to the fan shafts, it is understoodthat any other and suitable drive may be substituted therefor. The fandistributers 5 just above referred to, are provided with the ordinaryshaped wings 8, which stop short of the center of said distributorssubstantially as shown in the drawings.

9 denotes a combined bracket support and a distrib uter shield.Laterally adjustable on the support 9 is a substantially circular andelongated casing 11 composed of the semi-circular sections 12 and 13,having webbed portions at their opposite ends by means of which they maybe suitably connected together, and the lower portions of said castingsat their opposite ends are provided with the flange portions 14, whichhave secured thereto the feed ways 15 which communicate with openings 16in the said casing 11. The feed ways 15 consist of short tapered andtubular necks 17 having the lower annular flange or shield 18 and theupper substantially squared flange 19 by means of which the said feedways may be connected to the flanges 14 of the sections 12 and 13 of thecasing 11. To adapt the feed ways 15 to be longitudinally adjusted onthe sections of the casings 11, 1 provide the flanges 19 of the feedways 15 with the elongated slots 20 to adapt the feed ways to be shiftedupon the loosening of bolts 21, which is the means here employed forconnecting the feed ways to the casing 11 as described. To adapt thecasing 11 to be laterally adjusted on the support 9, I have provided apair of ears 22, adapted to rest upon and be secured to extensions 23 ofthe said support 9. 7

With the arrangement of the casing 11 and the feed ways 15 as abovedescribed, I am enabled for purposes to be further set forth, to movethe entire casing 11 towards or from the end-gate 1 and also shift thefeed ways 15 towards or from the center of the said casing 11.

Describing more fully the construction of the casing 11, the same isprovided with a pair of central inner walls or partitions 24, separatedfrom each other a suitable distance forming the open way 25, the saidpartitions or inner Walls 24 having the upwardly inclined or unitedconverging portions 26. When the sections 12 and 13 are connected, thepartitions 24 and converging portions 26 unite to form a generalpartition through the said casing 11 and an overhanging inclosure forthe open way 25. For a short distance on each side of the partitions orwalls 24 the upper wall of the casing or the sections 12 and 13 thereofis provided with the rectangular cut out portions 27 forming a feed wayto the interior casing 11.

Supported by the casing 11 is a hopper support 28 consisting of a pairsubstantially similar sections or castings 29 having the upper matchingwebbed portions 30 by means of which they may be connected together,

and the said sections overlie a portion of the casing 11 and areprovided with slotted ears 31 by means of which 'they may be bolted orotherwise suitably secured to communicates and supports the hopper 33.

Revolubly carried and longitudinally disposed in the casing 11 andpassing through the partitions 24 therein is a shaft 34, and on thisshaft is carried right and left angers 35 and 36 adapted to conveymaterial which may be discharged into the casing 11 to the opposite endsotsuch casing, and discharge it out through the openings 16, therein, toand through the feed ways 15 onto the distributers 6 revolving therebeneath. To control the flow of material from the hopper support 28 tothe casing 11 through the openings 27 in the upper wall thereof, 1 haveprovided slide valves 37, which are longitudinally adjustable on thecasing 11, for the purpose of closing either of the openings 27 in thecasing 11 substantially as seen in Fig. 4; the said slide valve as willbe understood operates through suitable slotted ways 38 in the walls ofthe section of the hopper support 28. The said slide valves 37 areadapted to be adjustably and slid ably carried on a longitudinal rod 39,which may be supported in any suitable manner, from or attached thequantity of material which is fed to the auger feed of the casing 11 isgoverned entirely through the adjustment of the slidevalves 37 by meansof which more or less material may be allowed to enter the casing 11through the openings 27 described.

Journaled in the hopper support 28 is an agitating shaft 44 carrying theagitators 45 and such shaft is driven by means of a sprocket chain 46engaging a sprocket pinion 47 on the shaft 34 and a sprocket pinion 48on the outer end of'such agitating shaft. And the mode of transmittingmotion or power to the auger shaft 34 is by means of a chain drive 49engaging a sprocket wheel 50 on the driving shaft 3, and passing upintermediate the two distributing fans 6, operates through the open way25 of the casing 11 and engages a sprocket pinion 51 on the shaft 34between the match" ing walls or partitions 24 of the said casing 11.

Operating the auger shaft in the manner in which I do, by means of adriving chain extending up intermediate the distributing fans, obviatesthe obstruction of the cast of grain or other material from the fandistributers, which would be the case if the drive were arranged toconnect the outer end of either end of the anger shaft 34; and throughthe provision of the converging wall 26 of and partitions 24 I provide ashed or inclosure for the pinion 51 and a drive chain 49 and form a feedway together with the openings 27 in the casing 11 to adapt an easy flowof material from the hopper and its support to the interior of thecasing 11. I have provided a guide and chain tightener for the drivechain 49 see Fig. 3 consisting of a sheave wheel 52, which is carried bya depending bracket 53 adjustably supported on the outer section 12 ofthe casing 11. The said bracket 53 has a concave face adapted to matchthe convex surface of the section 12, so that in the adjustment of saidbracket and the sheave wheel thereon, the said sheave-wheel may beadjusted toward and from the chain. The upper end of the bracket isslotted as at 54 to adapt it for adjustment when the bolt 55, whichsupports the same is loosened.

The devices, that is the feeding devices, which have been referred toare employed mainly for conveying grain, such as oats, wheat, and etcfrom a hopper to distributing fans for discharging broadcast over afield. I will now describe a grass seed attachment for conveying suchseed from a hopper to the point of the casing 11 where the grain isdischarged into a feed way from which it is deposited onto the fan ofthe distributers, at which point the grass seed and grain is mixedbefore its discharge onto the distributers.

56 refers generally to a hopper support consisting of the matchingsections 57 suitably secured together through the ears 58. The saidsections support a hopper 59 and are provided with ears 60 by means ofwhich they maybe bolted or otherwise suitably secured to one of thesections 29 to the hopper support, see Fig. 2. The sections of thehopper support 56 are provided with an open way 61 controlled byoppositely movable slide valves 62, and extending through the saidhopper support and journaled in the opposite walls thereof is a shortshaft 63, on which is revolubly mounted a fluted force feed roller 64and the drive for the said shaft 63 is through a sprocket chain 65engaging a sprocket pinion 66 on the agitating shaft 44, and a sprocketpinion 67 carried on the shaft 63. See Fig. 1 for front elevation andFig. 2 for side elevation, however, in the latter view the drive isshown in dotted lines.

Referring to the force roller 64 the same is provided with oppositelyprojected fluted portions 68 divided by a central flange or partition69. The'flutes of the fluted portions 68 taper downwardly from theflangeportion 69 to the outer ends of the said roller and the outer endsof the flutes are flared or in other words the walls of the flutesconverge from their greatest widths which is at the ends of the rollerto the central flange or partition thereof where they are in very closeproximity to each other; it is preferable to have the flutessubstantially semicircular or concave as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Theobject of providing a fluted force feed roller where the flutes thereoftaper from a central point downwardly and outwardly to the ends of thesaid roller is to gradually increase the feed of material from thehopper through the force feed roller to the feeding devices heretoforedescribed. The feed of the material being regulated by the adjustment ofthe slide valves 62, which, if moved outwardly a short distance willallow a small quantity of material to be discharged by the fluted rollerand as the slide valve will move further outwardly, it will be seen thatthe flow of material will rapidly increase, owing not only to theopenings in the valves but through the exposure of the flutes the widthsand depths of which increase toward their outer ends. The slide valves62 are slotted as at 70 and move adjacent to brackets 71 extending outfrom the sections 57 of the hopper support 56 through which the shaft 63is'carried and the same are adjustably held by means of the winged nutsand bolts referred to generally as 71.

Attached to the hopper support 56 is a pair of depending and divergingspouts 72, preferably tapered as shown in the drawings and having theirlower ends seated in the tubular bosses 73 projecting out from thesections 12 of the casing 11, at or near their opposite ends andpreferably at points where material is conveyed through the spouts 72will be discharged above the feed ways 15, of the opening 16 in thecasing 11 to insure the co-mingling of the grass seed and grain. Theupper ends of the spouts 72 are secured in position to receive seedfromthe hopper 56, when the slide valves 62 are opened, by means of ears74 which are adapted to ears 75 forming a part of a hopper supportsection 57. The upper ends of the spouts 72 where they unite areprovided with matching walls 76 which lie in juxtaposition with eachother, and have the extending ears 7 7, which are bolted together asshown at 78.

The object of adjusting the casing 11 on its support or the feed ways 15on the said casing, is to regulate the feed of grain and grass seed ontothe fan distributers.

If its found that the cast of the material from the distributers is toomuch toone side or the other, then the feed ways 15 will be adjustedlongitudinally of the casing 11. If the cast of the material is too nearthe board, then the casing 11 will be adjusted on the support 10. Bythis means I am enabled to discharge the material onto the distributersat desired points and also regulate the cast from such distributers, andfor this purpose, I prefer to employ ian distributers having wingssubstantially as shown.

As a supplemental support for the support 1.0 and the parts carriedthereby, I have provided the brace 79 as shown.

The bracket support 9 was referred to as a support and distributershield, the shield portion being indicated as 80 and a substantiallysemi-circular shape depending from the support 9 at the rear of the fandistributers.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:-

1. In a seeding machine, the combination of a fluted force feed roller,the flutes of which are inclined downwardly and have side walls whichconverge from the outer end of such roller inwardly.

2. In a seeding machine, a force feed fluted roller provided with twosets of fluted portions divided by an annular flange, the flutes thereofinclined downwardly from the said flange and the walls of such flutesconverging from the outer ends of said roller t0 the flange thereof.

3. In a seeding machine, a force feed fluted roller provided with twosets of fluted portions divided by an annular flange, the flutes thereofbeing substantially concave and inclined downwardly from the saidflange, and the walls of such flutes converging from the outer ends ofsaid roller to the flange thereof.

4. In a seeding machine, the combination of a pair of distributing fans.a receptacle, a fluted force feed roller revolubly carried in saidreceptacle, the said roller provided with two sets of fluted portionsdivided by an annular flange, the flutes of said roller inclineddownwardly and flared outwardly towards the outer ends of said roller,spouts connected with the said receptacle and adapted to deliver thematerial therefrom onto each of said fans, and valves for controllingthe delivery of the material from the receptacle by the roller tothesaid spouts.

5. In a seeding machine, the combination of a pair of distributing fans,a receptacle supported above and intermediate said fans, a pair ofspouts depending and diverging from said receptacle and having theirdischarge ends located above the fans, a fluted force feed rollerrevolubly mounted in the receptacle having flutes which are inclineddownwardly and have side walls which converge from the outer end of suchroller inwardly, means for operating the roller, means for operating thefans, and means for controlling the delivery of material from thereceptacle into the spouts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES P. SESTER.

Witnesses Crms. N. La Ponrn, .T. M. ANDERSON.

